


Through City Streets

by Aurum_Auri



Series: The Thirsty Games [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: A/B/O, Alpha Victor Nikiforov, And By That I Mean, Barebacking, Chase AU, Dubious Consent, Eating out, Knotting, M/M, Mild Angst, Mutual Pining, Omega Katsuki Yuuri, Omegaverse, Pregnancy Kink, Rough Sex, The Hunt, Wall Sex, blanket consent, dubcon, eating ass, literally wall sex, sex as a sport, they're in a wall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-06 16:03:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15889374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurum_Auri/pseuds/Aurum_Auri
Summary: The Hunt is a sport like no other. Alphas and Omegas from around the world compete in an international spectacle designed to thrill. An Omega wins if they can escape the arena. An Alpha's job is simple: claim the omegas before they can.The Hunt takes them to an exotic new locale, where a new resort offers a unique opportunity for runners. But things are never as easy as they seem...





	Through City Streets

**Author's Note:**

> Important to bear in mind: Please do not forget that this is an AU where sex is not treated the same as it is in real life. This is a universe where sex isn't just televised, it is one of the most popular sports globally. Thanks! And enjoy the fic!

Victor scrubbed the video back to the beginning for the sixth time in the last hour.

It was a youtube clip from Worlds, lifted from the hundreds of cameras embedded in trees. Someone had taken it from the official broadcast website and edited it down to the most essential parts.

Victor watched as Yuuri Katsuki, omega living legend, pinned him to the tree, fucked his throat, scented him, and then left Victor with a straining cock and a burning need to mate.

This was just a competition for Yuuri. Katsuki was the kind of strict professional who focused wholly on the game. He didn’t really spend time with most of the other competitors, except for Chulanont, a Thai omega with a lot of potential and a strong following in his home country. For Katsuki, this sport was serious business.

For years, Victor had been much the same. He wondered when that had changed. But he knew the answer. It had changed when he realized his feelings for Yuuri weren't strictly professional.

Victor had never been happier in his life. Chasing Yuuri was better than chasing any other omega. Europeans just wasn't as fun without Yuuri there.

It wasn't surprising. In Europeans, his partner was just a warm body who moaned at the right times and didn't run fast enough. Same as always. Boring. Uninspired. Not surprising.

But Yuuri was like wildfire. He'd charged into Victor’s life, blew a kiss, and Victor was gone. He lived for the feeling of claiming Yuuri, of feeling so utterly claimed in return. It was a constant stream of surprises. It was thrilling. It was bliss.

If he ruined it…

Everything was more intense after a chase. Victor didn't even know if Yuuri cared about him. Maybe the feeling wasn't real. Maybe it was just what remained after the hunt.

Someone interviewing Victor had asked him, in the aftermath of Worlds, if he planned to retire now that he had lost twice to the same omega.

Victor scrubbed back to the beginning of the video again.

He didn't know. He just didn't know.

* * *

 Yuuri’s flight to Dubai landed with little fanfare. Some athletes had large followings that crowded airports, but the busy airport paid him little mind, aside from a few pointed fingers. They had places to be, and he wasn’t a recognizable face to begin with.

His eyes wandered. He had seen countless airports over the years. His travels had taken him to a good number of countries around the world. But he’d never seen one so busy, nor one so outrageously beautiful.

The wheels of his suitcase made soft sounds on the tile floors. He hadn’t known what to expect, but certainly not this. Wide-eyed with awe, it took him a while to locate his bags and find his way to a taxi that could bring him to the hotel he would stay in for the next three days.

The Grand Prix was in early December this year, but the weather was a welcome change. Dry, warm, but not miserably hot. It was perfect chase weather.

The city itself was a spectacle all its own. Everything was luxurious, somewhere between overwhelming and awe-inspiring. There was a larger than life feeling that Yuuri often got from larger cities, but this was beyond even those. Even his hotel’s building was massive, towering on its own artificial island.

His phone buzzed in his pocket as he took his elevator to the room that the organizers had put him up in. He glanced at it as the elevator climbed a ridiculous number of floors.

**Chris: Helllooo Yuuri~ Want to explore the city with me?**

Yuuri blinked and checked the message twice. He fired back a quick ‘why?’ message as the doors slid open. He fumbled his phone in his hand and grabbed his suitcase. He barely slipped out the door before they slid shut behind him.

**Chris: awww don't trust me? I’m boooored. Come on, let’s have some fun! We never hang out~**

Yuuri sighed. He'd been hoping to sleep a bit, but exploring didn't sound bad. ‘Let me grab Phichit’ he sent back. He pulled out the keycard and swiped it in the door. When the light flashed, he pushed inside and his breath caught in his throat.

“I’m in the wrong room,” he said. He stepped out, double-checking the number on the door and on the keycard he’d been given. Everything matched like it was supposed to.

The room was opulent: a king size bed with a gorgeous skyline view of all of Dubai, delicate golden fixtures, designer everything. A room like this was four figures a night at least.

He stepped back out again. His suitcase was still there, suddenly looking a bit shabby in comparison. He wheeled it into the room and changed quickly, feeling uneasily underdressed compared to a hotel room, hastily shutting the door behind him on the way out.

He fired a text at Phichit and Chris to meet him in the lobby.

He was down there for barely two minutes before a hand slid over his ass and squeezed, and an arm came down around his shoulder. “Chris!” Yuuri yelped.

“Good to see you,” he said. His warm smile spread like honey over his lips. “It’s been a while.”

“Mmmhmm,” Yuuri agreed. “How have you been?”

“Just lovely. Where would you like to start? Shopping, the spa? I hear the stores in Dubai are otherworldly. There’s supposed to be a store where every department is a different ancient civilization.”

“I think Phichit wanted to go to some mall?” Yuuri said. “I don’t actually know much of what there is to do here.”

“Ohohoh, you’re in for a treat then,” Chris laughed. He looked to the elevators, which were sliding open. Phichit rocketed out into the main lobby.

“Yuuuuuri!” Yuuri found himself with an armful of Thai omega. “It’s so great to see you again! And Chris, looking amazing as always,” Phichit said, tapping his chin approvingly.

“And you as well,” Chris replied.

Pleasantries and chatting took up most of the journey to the mainland, into the city itself. It was twenty minutes by taxi, past a few tolls and into the downtown area where the mall was located.

It was bigger than Yuuri expected. Much, much bigger. Wide eyed and amazed, they roamed through the mall, past endless stores, each one grander and more expensive than the last. Some of them didn’t even have price tags on the merchandise.

Yuuri knew well enough, if it didn’t have a price, he probably couldn’t afford it.

Still, it was fun to window shop, catching up with Chris and Phichit. The summer had been long, and the preliminary assignments during the fall had pitted them against other hunters. This was their first chance to hang out since worlds in America.

“I think the hotel put me in the wrong room,” Yuuri laughed. “I walked inside and did a double take.”

“Me too,” Phichit said. He looked like he couldn’t breathe from how hard he was laughing. “I saw the name of the hotel and I was like ‘this is a joke, right?’, because there’s no way they’re putting us up here. I’ve been live-tweeting the whole trip and people are going crazy.”

Chris grinned. “Didn’t you hear?” Phichit and Yuuri both tilted their heads, so Chris continued, “ah, I guess not. The resort we’ll be chasing one another in is a new addition. The tourism board made a concentrated effort to host the Grand Prix here while they were constructing it, hoping to increase traffic. We’re basically very expensive, very popular advertising. And if we were to enjoy our stay and speak highly of our experiences…”

“Then people would want to travel here,” Phichit gathered. He tapped his chin. “Smart.”

“Two dozen complementary rooms, but the tradeoff is countless very wealthy people vacationing here,” Chris said. “I hear the package for tourists is complete with full video with commentary, too, the works. They get to have the full chase experience that we do, and the city gets to reap the benefits of the extra tourism. The math works out nicely in their favor.”

“I still can’t believe there’s an entire resort for the hunt,” Yuuri muttered. Ridiculous. This whole city was too extravagant for Yuuri’s blood. Now Victor, he probably would fit right in.

Phichit stopped dead, grabbing Chris and Yuuri by the shoulders. He pointed to a store, his eyes sparkling. “We have to go in.”

Yuuri didn’t even have a chance to see the sign before he was yanked inside. “Phichit-” he sputtered, already feeling his wallet cry out just from looking at the shop. “We aren’t even dressed nicely enough to be in here-”

“Nonsense, we look amazing,” Chris purred, steering Yuuri right past the first display. “You got all that sponsorship money, didn’t you? Live a little, I know I am.”

The mall wasn’t just massive, it was a city within a city. Yuuri was half winded by noon, mostly window shopping, although his sponsorship checks were accumulating into a nice little sum these days. He purchased a small hat that he found, a cute knit cap that had what looked like cat ears on top. Yuuri tacitly didn’t look at the price tag when it was being rung in.

The check was burning a hole in his pocket as Phichit dragged him into a very dangerous store on the first floor, wedged in a corner beside a Cartier and a Hermes.

“This is a bad idea,” Yuuri said, as his eyes glazed. Everything was beautiful: the colors, the cuts, every style more perfect than the last.

“Oh my god, this is amazing,” Phichit said, checking the size.

“Yuuuuuuri~” Chris called, and Yuuri turned. “You have to try this on.”

It was like a dream.

His hands were shaking as he stepped out of the dressing room, studying himself in the mirror. “You have to get it,” Phichit whispered.

“You do look stunning,” Chris said, adding a low whistle. “I’d kill for a back like yours, mmm.”

Yuuri grimaced as he turned. He looked amazing. Nothing compared to this, not the most expensive suit in his wardrobe, not the most gorgeous dress he’d ever bought. He winced at the pricetag. “I can’t,” he said.

“How bad could it be-” Phichit said, then broke off. He dropped the price tag like it burned him. “Maybe you should take it off.”

“You get what you pay for,” Chris purred. He slid his hands up Yuuri’s waist, showing the way the stunning blue fabric clung to his skin, giving his hips the appearance of curves where there were none, the way blue leaves curled over his shoulder blades, and how the transparent back showed off the length of his spine.

This was the pinnacle of male omega fashion, and it had the cost to match. He never wanted to take it off.

Gingerly, he stepped back into the dressing room and put his clothes back on. His eyes lingered on the dress. He wanted it. He wanted it so badly.

He was reluctant as they left, making for other stores. But he couldn’t help but looking longingly back at the direction he had come, imagining himself in that dress as he arrived in the prechase banquet.

It was a few hours into their adventures that Chris stepped away to take a call and came back in moments with a bigger grin than before.

“Victor is wondering where we are, should we tell him?” he whispered conspiratorially, still speaking into his phone. Yuuri managed to catch some indistinct buzzing sounds that immediately resonated with something inside of him. A shiver raced up his spine.

“No, we can’t,” Phichit said in mock horror. “We’re having so much fun already!”

“True true,” Chris said. The gentle tease in his voice made it lighter and more airy than usual, and the smile on his face was infectious to the point where Phichit was on the verge of laughter. Yuuri himself was breaking into sudden giggles. “Sorry, Victor, I guess we can’t tell you-”

There was more buzzing, indignant over the line. Yuuri was laughing now so hard he almost couldn’t see through the tears. “Tell him we miss him, it’s really too bad he can’t make it,” Yuuri said through his giggles, and Chris’s expression turned out devilish.

“Yuuri says he misses you, shame you can’t join us,” Chris teased. Yuuri flushed bright red despite himself, but he was still laughing as more indignant sounds came from the phone, indiscernible from this far away. Chris nodded, making ‘mmhmm’ sounds in response to whatever Victor was saying.

He paused a minute.

“Fineeee,” he sighed, still teasing. “Dubai Mall. We’ve made it to the second floor. See you soon, Victor, don’t make us wait too long.”

Victor was coming. What would he think of Yuuri in that dress?

Yuuri had more sponsors than ever. He could afford the dress if he wanted. Sponsors didn’t care if it was dumb luck or skill, all they saw was two of Yuuri’s wins over Victor and they flocked. He sent money home, saved money for the future, and he still had a generous amount piling up. More, if he agreed to the Mizuno photo spread they’d asked him to do.

He could afford it. But he shouldn’t, he knew it was a bad idea to spend that much on one outfit when he had a perfectly good suit back home. He already spent a few bucks on a new tie since Victor had yet to return his old one, and the suit was fine.

He couldn’t justify it to himself, no matter how badly he wanted it.

“You and Victor sometimes go sightseeing, don’t you?” Yuuri said, desperate for a distraction.

Chris nodded. “It’s a great way to get used to the climate of an area. Not just the weather and the temperatures, but just… making yourself more at home with where you are. Victor doesn’t get nervous, I think, but sometimes I still get a little thrown by new areas!” he laughed.

“You two must be good friends then,” Yuuri said. The selfies on Instagram spoke for themselves. “It must be hard only seeing one another a few times a year.”

“Mmm,” Chris agreed, but his tone had softened. Yuuri waited for him to continue, but he'd fallen silent.

Phichit gave him a curious look, but Chris shrugged.

“It's alright, at any rate. Let’s find something to eat. Victor says he’ll be here in a few minutes. He can join up with us then.”

* * *

 “There you are!” Victor called out twenty minutes later. They had almost finished eating when Victor plopped into the seat beside Yuuri. He looked stunning, Yuuri was caught staring for longer than he should have as Victor’s enticing scent filled the air around them.

He was glad he was sitting. His legs turned to gelatin and he would have dropped in a heartbeat. As it was, he inhaled the last bite of his wrap and choked unattractively, and Victor clapped him on the back until Yuuri could breathe once more.

“Are you okay?” Victor asked. He leaned in close. His eyes were a painfully bright shade of blue. Yuuri sucked down air that was heavy with the scent of wintergreen.

Yuuri nodded frantically. “Y-yeah I’m good.”

“Great!” Victor said. As they set off, Yuuri found himself hyperaware of how close Victor was standing.

They were almost touching, their arms brushing with each swing, every step. Phichit was chattering in a steady drone, and Yuuri’s mind slipped away. Victor’s arm was warm. He could feel it even from this far away.

Would Victor’s hand be soft if Yuuri held it?

His cheeks flamed over red with heat. It was an entirely irrational, inappropriate thought, and it took a force of will to keep from stretching his fingers out, seeking a brush against Victor’s. Bad, bad. He clutched his hands into a fist and glanced up.

Victor’s eyes were glittering as he looked over the mall. His lips were parted slightly. Wonder made him look younger.

Victor stopped in his tracks. Phichit and Chris were walking a short ways away, not seeming to notice that Yuuri drew up short beside him. “Have you been in that one yet?” Victor asked, pointing a store out.

Yuuri shook his head.

A smile broke over Victor’s lips, bright and beautiful, and Victor reached for Yuuri’s wrist, using it to pull him into the store. “Come on, let’s take a look!”

“What about Phichit and Chris?” Yuuri asked. He jogged to keep up. “Should we go get them?”

“We can catch up later!” Victor said. His laugh was perhaps the most beautiful thing Yuuri had ever heard. Yuuri smiled, and he let himself be pulled along.

Store after store, Yuuri had to laugh and tell Victor to curb his impulses, rolling his eyes fondly when Victor purchased a very large container of overpriced lip balm from the Chanel store, when he dropped a pretty penny on Hermes scarves and designer socks.

They lost track of Phichit and Chris entirely, but Yuuri barely noticed. He pulled Victor downstairs to the ice rink and beamed.

“It's amazing, I can't believe they have a whole rink inside of here, and it's still bigger than my rink back home!”

“Oh, so you're a skater,” Victor said with a little grin.

“I used to love skating,” he said. He looked at Victor. “When I was growing up, I spent all my time at the local rink.”

“Are you any good still?” Victor asked.

Yuuri scoffed. “I haven’t had time. I’d be terrible.”

“Well, I haven’t skated in years, so I will be just _awful,_ ” Victor said, eyes bright. He wrapped an arm around Yuuri and pulled him toward the skate rentals. “Let’s do it.”

“We could get hurt,” Yuuri said. “Twist an ankle, or-”

Victor drew up short. The glitter in his eyes had become calculating. “We don’t have to,” he said, glancing around for something else to do. Yuuri’s chest constricted.

The pang was brief, but it felt like he had let Victor down with just a few words, and he hated the feeling. He reached for Victor’s hands. They were soft and warm between his palms. He gave a little tug towards the rental booth.

Victor let out a laugh of delight. They laced up, tight enough that Yuuri could feel the distantly familiar, reassuring pressure of the boots around his ankles.

Victor was terrible, but it came back quickly enough to Yuuri. “You’re too good at this, it’s not fair,” Victor teased. “I thought you’d be as bad as I am.”

Yuuri pulled a modest little turn. “I feel comfortable on the ice. Sometimes when I’m stressed, I go back. It reminds me of when I was younger. My friend’s family owned the rink. They let me skate whenever I felt like it, so it just became habit. It’s not as easy now that I’m away from home.”

“Where is home?” Victor asked. He cocked his head, and he had a slightly graceless wobble as he tried to dodge a little girl whizzing dangerously close to him. “Japan, right?”

“Hasetsu. A little city in Kyushu,” Yuuri said. He looked up. He could see people streaming around them on every side. If it was less busy, he’d try a spin or a waltz jump, just to see if he still could, but his nerves got the better of him. “But I’ve been in America with Phichit for a few years now. They have bigger courses to practice on and better equipment.”

“I see,” Victor said. He executed a very shaky turn around the corner.

It was slow, but he was steadying out. Naturally athletic to a fault, he was getting the hang of it quickly. Yuuri was drooling at the long line of his legs, how shapely they looked from the skates, the line his torso and back made with every movement of his body.

“We have a great deal of equipment in St. Petersburg, as well. It’s been my home all my life.”

“Do you live near your family?” Yuuri asked. Something flickered on Victor’s face. “Oh- I’m sorry, you don’t have to-”

“Oh no, you’re quite alright Yuuri. It’s just me and Makka right now. She’s not much for conversation, but I love her to pieces.”

“Your dog, right?” Yuuri asked, trying to play it off as a casual little fact he could have picked up anywhere, and certainly not something he followed religiously on instagram.

“Yes!” Victor said. He skated to the edge of the rink, out of the way of people, and they maneuvered to a set of benches nearby. Victor offered his phone. A precious cafe au lait colored poodle was grinning at the camera.

“She’s beautiful!” Yuuri crooned. He cooed over a very extensive collection of pictures, and offered his own curated album of Vicchan in exchange. “I don’t have as many as I’d like, but my sister sends me pictures from time to time. I miss him a lot.”

“I couldn’t imagine going without seeing Makkachin,” Victor said. His eyes turned sad. “Hey, could you send me some pictures of your cutie Vicchan? I’ll send some of Makkachin back to you!”

Yuuri nodded eagerly, and they exchanged numbers. Victor bombarded Yuuri with pictures of Makkachin immediately, leaving Yuuri grinning like a hopeless fool.

They returned their skates, a little chilly and sweaty after their workout, grabbing a soft pretzel to share while they warmed up.

Yuuri couldn't wipe the smile off his face. It was so easy to just talk with Victor. Yuuri had thought it would be harder, but Victor made it as simple as breathing.

“Are you excited for the race tomorrow?” Yuuri asked.

Victor hummed. “I've been looking forward to it for months. The Dubai course was in the news for years, so I’m very excited to be one of the first to get to use it.”

“You probably know more than I do,” Yuuri said. “I didn't even realize this place was here. I don't keep up with news as well as I should, sometimes, I guess.” He looked out across the oversized mall. He wondered how many thousands of people were here. “I didn’t even realize Cao Bin had retired until someone mentioned it the other day.”

“Too focused on competition?” Victor asked.

Yuuri made a little, noncommittal noise. How many times had he gotten so lost in his own world, buried his head so deep that nothing from the outside world reached him? Sometimes he didn’t even realize he did it. Sometimes he knew when he was, and buried his head even more.

“It’s getting late,” Victor murmured, glancing at his watch. Rolex, Yuuri noticed with a small widening of his eyes. Clearly this was not Victor’s first time dropping a generous amount of money on fine things. “What time is your course briefing?”

“Eleven,” Yuuri said. It was, indeed, getting late. “But I have to sign some paperwork and run a few tests before that.”

“Share a taxi with me?” Victor asked. Yuuri agreed easily. His heart never stopped fluttering, despite his best efforts.

* * *

 The tests were more invasive than usual. Dubai had more rules about who could race and more disqualifying policies than anywhere Yuuri had ever been to.

After being poked and prodded and enough blood taken to leave him dizzy, he was released to his meeting. Cookie in hand, he met up with Phichit, who was waiting outside the banquet hall, cross-legged on the floor. He had smudges of chocolate on his face, though he was wiping it off, using the selfie camera on his phone as a mirror.

Phichit grinned at him. “Have a fun night? What time did you get back?”

“Not too late. It was a lot of fun. We skated, shopped a bit. He loves shopping. Maybe just loves spending money,” Yuuri laughed. “We barely fit all the bags in the taxi.”

Phichit was smug. “Shared a taxi back? Did you share anything else?”

“Phichit!”

“We’re friends, Yuuri, kiss and tell, come on!” Phichit shook Yuuri’s shoulders.

“There’s nothing to tell, because nothing happened. Victor and I aren’t like that.”

“Sure, sure,” Phichit said, picking chocolate off his chin. “I believe you.”

Yuuri scoffed. “When have I ever lied to you about anything?”

Phichit tapped his chin. “Well. There was that time we were roommates and you said you had never heard of Victor and you let me think that until I found all those posters in your room by accident-”

“Shhh!” Yuuri hissed, covering Phichit’s mouth. “Okay, okay, but I’m telling the truth now, I swear. Nothing happened. Let’s just go in.”

Phichit studied Yuuri’s face for a long moment, before accepting it eventually. They took their seats beside Guang Hong. “Does it strike anyone as strange that there isn’t a projector?” Guang Hong asked.

“We probably just get-” Phichit broke off when he saw there were no printed maps sitting on tables. “Well, they will probably bring them in when the officials arrive,” he said.

The officials arrived very soon after. A greying beta stepped forward, tapping a microphone at the front of the hall. “Welcome, omegas! We hope you are all enjoying your stay!” he began.

Yuuri sat back and listened as his voice began to drone on. The speech had the usual half hour of pleasantries and rules, reminders of policies, and a bit of good natured ribbing encouraging them to do their best. Yuuri was half asleep when the beta speaking to them stepped aside, introducing a slightly chubby alpha as the designer of the course.

“As you all know, the Dubai Hunting Arena is a one of a kind resort. The ribbon will be cut when the alphas go inside, and there will likely be a great deal of reporters present when you arrive. The president has already informed you of how important it is to remain on your best behavior, so my job is to tell you what to expect on the course.”

Yuuri leaned forward. The alpha gestured toward a span of wall and it blinked to life. An image appeared there, where the wall had previously only looked like a span of paint.

The image showed a sandstone city like something from a film. The buildings were blocky, rising up in height toward the center. Spires rose from a few buildings, each spire taller than the centermost building and connected to that center building by cord hung with banners. The breeze caught them, sending flashes of crimson and yellow and blue fluttering over a pale gold city.

“There is no map available to you.” An explosion of whispering rippled over the omegas, and Yuuri and Phichit exchanged an uneasy look. “However, we have made a concession. The alphas have only a thirty minute head start into the city and they also have no access to a map,” the man said. His voice was thickly accented. No map made things… much more difficult.

The wall blinked and the image changed. There was a gorgeous fountain, tiled and set with crystals that sparkled in the sun. “In the interest of hydration, these fountains are full of purified mineral water and will run constantly during the chase. They are safe to drink from, and we encourage you to stay healthy.”

The image flipped to where a cord was moored on a wooden protrusion in a sandstone wall. “All fixtures have been secured and reinforced to make them extremely safe. Extensive studies from many different sources went into making sure they will stand up to the rigors of whatever you throw at it. No one is getting injured here,” he said firmly.

The presenter covered a few more points and then flipped to an image of the spires dotted through the city. “These observation suites will hold sponsors and people who purchased a pass to the grand opening. Let’s give them a good show, yeah?” he laughed a bit.

He flipped the screen again, to an image of the vibrating eggs, each one with a thin golden chain trailing down the bottom. The shape was a little unusual.

“The trackers we are providing you with operate to pinpoint where you are as well as your altitude in the course. They also have four vibration settings, controlled by viewers!”

Yuuri and Phichit exchanged a knowing look and a grimace. Perfect, just great.

“The alpha’s collars will work the same way. Have no fear if the alphas get too rough, the collars are electrified and will keep you perfectly safe!”

As the presenter continued to speak, Yuuri sat back, letting out a deep breath. “Any strategies yet?” he whispered.

Phichit looked a bit down. “Nope. You?”

Yuuri shook his head. “Nope.”

* * *

 Reporters surrounded the building as the omegas streamed inside. The building fronted a large island off the coast of Dubai, manmade and connected to the city by a brand new suspension bridge. Reporters were frantically taking snapshots of the entering omegas.

Yuuri, usually the kind to bury his head and avoid attention, barely noticed them. He stalked forward, focused, ready to run. He was going to make it out of this. Nothing would stop him. Not Victor, not anyone.

The golden eggs were slightly larger than Yuuri had anticipated. He wondered if they were real gold or just looked like it. He slid it between his legs all the same.

He wasn’t thinking of Victor’s broad shoulders or the way Victor’s arm brushed his at the mall or even the heat of Victor in that bed back in America.

His body was hot and slick, and the egg slipped right in with minimal effort.

The costume was an indecent slip of gauzy fabric in a rainbow of colors to choose from. Yuuri reached for a gold one, anticipating how it might help him camouflage against the stone. Then the stunning blue dress returned to his mind. Yuuri ached to remember it, the way the bold blue looked against his skin. The two pieces were almost the same color.

The gauzy, midriff baring top and the almost translucent bottoms were weightless when he slipped them on. Yuuri was baffled to have been given something that resembled loose, billowy trousers that gathered at the ankle until he saw just how thin the fabric was.

This was not meant to be pulled down-- it was to be ripped off and discarded.

He gave a turn this way and that before slicking his hair back and putting in his contact lenses.

Their time was short, and all too soon, they were ushered to the door.

It spat them out inside one of the buildings of the city, vacant and sparsely furnished.

The windows had no glass, instead sitting open, allowing an oval of sunlight into the dim room and encouraging a faint breeze. Yuuri could smell the sea and it brought him home, grounded him, made him focused.

The room was eerily still despite a large cluster of omegas shifting uneasily. A staircase led up. The door seemed to let out into the same alleyway the window did.

Yuuri was good at climbing. He was agile, but he was also strong and flexible. The balance of skills lended him an edge in certain courses, and it absolutely would be an asset in a parkour-heavy course like this one.

They waited with bated breath for their signal. The eggs came to life as one. Several omegas jerked noticeably in surprise. Warmth bloomed in Yuuri’s belly, a delicious twist of intense pleasure.

They were off.

Yuuri made for the stairs, pushing past a pair of omega twins. The male twin snarled, but Yuuri paid them no mind. Like he thought, there was a window above, a small awning-like shade stretched out over the doorway, just close enough a gap to leap to the next window. Yuuri stepped out onto the tarp. It gave slightly beneath his feet, but held.

He jumped for the opposite ledge and found his footing, slipping inside. More stairs led up to the roof, offering him a way up even higher. The streets wound below him, only the first thirty meters readily visible. It doubled back on itself, ridiculously complex, labyrinthine in nature.

Ladders led up and down, and Yuuri could spot some lines of wooden dowel rod-like protrusions that could be climbed the same as ladders, or used as stepping stones to cross large gaps. He closed his eyes from atop the roof and took a deep breath.

He couldn’t pick up Victor.

The city didn’t carry scent well, and Yuuri found everyone’s unique pheromones muddling together. Yuuri growled under his breath. He had hoped to angle away from Victor’s location and avoid him at all costs. In a flat run, Victor was faster, but Yuuri could go longer.

In a maze like this, where the paths went up and down as easily as left and right, there was no telling who would win. Yuuri couldn’t afford the risk.

He could attempt restraining Victor again… He stopped beside one of the banners. He kept one eye out for alphas lurking in the shadows and yanked. One refused to budge and another barely gave. Yuuri couldn’t pull them free if he tried.

He worked at a thread, glancing constantly at his back. It was slow, meticulous work, possibly only because of a flaw in the stitches that Yuuri was able to pull at. It still took far, far too long to work one free from the cable. He threw it over his shoulders like a cape. His eyes traveled up, following the line of the mooring cable.

It stretched far, far into the distance, just one of a few hundred banners that reached up to the centermost building overlooking the rest. A few more cables reached from the top of the building up to the tops of the spires.

The egg jolted up in intensity, and Yuuri let out a startled gasp. “Oh!” His legs trembled as it buzzed right up against his prostate, deliciously sweet. A distraction. He needed to be moving.

Yuuri rolled his shoulders and set off.

His mouth was bone dry already. He could distantly smell an alpha somewhere to his 11 o’clock direction. He needed to keep moving, and he needed to find water.

Heat radiated off the streets. What had started as a perfectly temperate December day was quickly becoming hotter than Yuuri expected. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was having all that blood drawn. Either way, he was feeling a little dizzy.

There was no time to delay. He pressed forward, dodging one overeager alpha by scaling a wall and dropping to a crouch on the other side, out of reach.

It took twenty or thirty minutes before he first heard the babble of a fountain.

He kept to the shadows. He smelled something faint, but it was hard to determine exactly what he smelled, and the thirst was getting to him. Familiar… so very familiar…

Yuuri carefully scanned the clearing around the fountain. Blue and gold tiles radiated out from the fountain, ending about a meter and a half from the outermost edge of a four-tiered fountain.

Beyond the edge of the tile, sandstone paving tiles edged out the rest of the square. The open windows on the buildings were dark. If someone was inside, he couldn’t see them.

He edged out slowly. Light footsteps dodged the small rocks and stones that might scrape along the ground and draw attention to him. He lowered cupped hands into fountain.

He took one small sip then another, staying keenly on his guard. Then when nothing happened, he took a slightly longer drink. He had to take it slow enough that it wouldn’t make him sick.

There was a quiet scrape behind him. Yuuri hid his surprise, and slowly, so slowly, turned his head.

Chris was motionless, frozen from where he was creeping forward. He looked eyes with Yuuri, then he cocked his head with a jaunty grin. “Mine,” he growled, his eyes almost black. His alpha scent suddenly poured through the streets, flooding the square.

He jerked into action, running at a flat sprint toward Yuuri. He was faster than Yuuri expected. Yuuri flinched into a run a second too slowly, practically feeling Chris breathing down his throat as he closed in.

Yuuri closed his eyes and stopped sharply, twisting the banner behind him in a swift move. It caught Chris off guard, and Yuuri used the momentum to twist and tangle Chris up in the banner’s tough fabric.

Yuuri pulled it tight, turned on his heels, and bolted into a nearby alleyway. He could hear Chris swearing as he worked himself free. The alley ended in a dead end. He glanced back at the opening, breathing hard. Chris stopped in the mouth of the alley, and he began to prowl closer.

Yuuri flattened his spine against the back wall of the alley. It was so narrow he could almost feel it brushing his shoulders. Chris had to turn on his side to fit through. Yuuri glanced around, frantic, cornered. There was no way out.

He glanced up at the sky. Painfully blue, so bright. The sky was like Victor’s eyes. The egg pulsed between his thighs, and Yuuri’s mind sharped. He braced each arm against the walls, and then he _lifted_ up. He pressed his feet flat against the wall and began to hike himself up, pushing hard enough against either side of the wall that he was able to inch upwards.

Chris snarled, pushing deeper into the alley. He picked up speed, and so did Yuuri. His breath rasped out his throat. A hand closed around his ankle, almost ripping him down off the wall. Yuuri kicked out, knocking away the other hand before it could get hold. He jerked his leg.

He let out a sharp cry and hauled himself up, adrenaline pounding hard in his chest. He felt his foot slip free and he scrabbled up out of reach. Chris started to climb up behind him, huffing and snarling hungrily.

Yuuri forced himself up as fast as he could. He felt the edge of one of the roofs under his fingers, light breaking wide above his head with a huge swath of open sky. Yuuri clung to the edge and pulled himself over. He was breathing hard. He scrambled over the edge.

With Chris close behind him, Yuuri dodged down a slim ladder and slipped away into a thin hole in the wall. It was a close fit. His shoulders fit through easily, but his hips almost caught. He wriggled free. Chris stopped outside the window.

His scent poured out, thick and heavy, and he forced his shoulders into the hole. But no matter how hard he reached, how he struggled, he couldn’t fit through behind Yuuri.

Yuuri let out a nervous laugh, finally taking the chance to breathe and take stock of where he was. The house had a door, but it was opposite the side of the walls from where Chris was. Yuuri stuck his head outside.

The path was clear enough for now. It wouldn’t stay that way forever. He set out once more, keeping his steps light enough to avoid calling attention to himself.

A curious pile of rubble caught his eye. The rest of the city, though sparse, was quite clean, almost disturbing in how empty it was. The trash was conspicuous. Yuuri shifted some of the trash aside. The large piece of corrugated metal fell away easily. It wasn’t even rusted, still shiny and new.

Behind it was a hollow space. A secret passage. Yuuri crawled inside.

It was darker in here. The tightly enclosed space gave him a slightly more nervous feel than being out in the open, but slightly more secure as well. His eyes adjusted to the halflight of the tunnel. It was a narrow fit, easier on his hands and knees than crouching, but he could tell he was making good progress.

The light was shockingly bright when the secret tunnel spit him out. He winced at the sun, feeling his way around a corner.

He bumped into a body. He gasped, hearing a stifled scream in response. His eyes adjusted rapidly as he wheeled back. “P-Phichit?” he stammered. His mind sharpened a little and he found it a little easier to focus. He was so used to Phichit’s scent that it set his mind more at ease.

“Yuuri? You almost gave me a heart attack,” Phichit wheezed. He was glancing around. “I thought Emil was chasing me again.”

“I just got away from Chris,” Yuuri said. Yuuri’s vibrator suddenly rocketed up two levels and he gasped at the same time as Phichit did.

“Can they _not_ do that,” Phichit wheezed. His eyes were dilating wildly, and his scent deepened enough for Yuuri to pick up on it. Yuuri could feel his own pulse pounding between his legs, and he sucked down a breath to steady himself.

“Come on, we need to get higher. The streets don’t feel safe,” Yuuri said. Phichit followed him up to the roof of a nearby building, using the protruding wooden spokes like a makeshift ladder. A thin wall connected this building to another building, about three or so inches thick.

Yuuri waved, and he held his arms out, taking the wall like a balance beam to the other side. Phichit followed, wobbling once but making it across without too much issue. They climbed higher until they had a fairly stunning view of the city they had traversed already.

“Almost halfway,” Phichit commented. He tipped his head. The tallest building was close, and there were more cords connecting it to buildings here.

Yuuri narrowed his eyes at the mountainous center building, having to shade his face from the sun. Something glinted, but it was too bright to make out.

“Look, it’s Guang Hong!” Phichit said, pointing a finger.

The little Chinese omega was slipping around a corner, but a pair of alphas were coming up in either direction. Yuuri winced sympathetically. That would not be fun trying to escape from.

“There’s Chris,” Yuuri said, pointing to a spot eerily close to them. Chris hasn’t seemed to notice them yet, fortunately. They couldn’t trust their luck forever. “Let’s keep moving. What looks like the best path? Left and then straight up?”

“There’s that little ridge though, could be tricky to scale. We could go right and have more roofs to take a break on.”

“Left has a fountain,” Yuuri said.

Phichit shuddered. “That’s how Emil almost got me. No thanks.”

“Chris too. Did they all come up with the same idea?” Yuuri laughed.

“Lurking by fountains,” Phichit scoffed. “They’re not going to get good scores for opportunistic bull crap like that.” They both laughed a bit and started to the right.

Yuuri followed the line of the roof. Phichit stayed close behind, keeping a lookout for anyone who could be lurking at their tails. They avoided the center building by a narrow margin, always watching, keeping up their guard as they cross the halfway point.

The buildings began to slope downward from here, creating a slow descent. They could see the finish line already, dressed and ribbons and banners under a grand archway. Yuuri could smell victory, even though a third of the course still remained ahead of them.

They crawled down a wall, taking a brief break on a rooftop to catch their breath before continuing onward.

Yuuri heard a soft whistle in the air, some kind of friction growing louder and closer. He looked around frantically, but there was nothing in sight. No alphas, no omegas, nothing. Yuuri narrowed his eyes, trying to pinpoint where it could have been coming from.

Yuuri’s head whipped back to one of the rooftops behind them just a short jump away, where are thick cable stretched from it to the center building. He followed the line of it up with his eyes, and he let out a sharp yell. “Run!”

It was Victor.

Victor was ziplining down the cable, one of the banners twisted in his hands and stretched over the cable, singing as it burned its way closer and closer at top speed. Victor landed with barely a stumble, already using his momentum to roll himself forward and jump across the gap between them.

Both of them took off like a shot, racing as fast as they could down continuously narrowing paths that connected the rooftops, leaping over gaps between roofs, taking jumps over wooden bars at danger speeds.

Victor stayed close, keeping about 10 feet above them, able to see all of the paths they planned to take before they even took them. Yuuri and Phichit were breathing hard, breath rasping up in their throats.

“Down,” Yuuri hissed through clenched teeth. “We need to knock him down to the ground or we’ll never get away.”

Phichit picked up a wild grin, panting hard. “Victor… so predictable. What’s... he gonna do… if we split up?”

Yuuri laughed. His blood was singing in his veins, his mind light, his pulse throbbing between his thighs as they dripped with slick. He felt alive.

At the next roof, they darted opposite directions.

Like a starving animal, Victor came charging right after Yuuri, using the obstacles Yuuri faced to stay hot on his heels. Victor dropped to Yuuri’s level, already smelling a win as he closed in. Yuuri pushed himself harder, breath sharp in his lungs.

Victor was dangerously close, too close, he was going to get Yuuri, Yuuri wasn’t going to make it-

Victor let out a cry like a wounded animal. Shock. Yuuri stumbled and glanced back.

It was like slow motion. Victor’s arms wheeled through the air as Phichit gave him a solid shove, right over the thin edge of the narrow ledge they were running along. “Down!” Phichit growled, giving one more solid shove.

Victor started to slip backward, and Yuuri could only giggle and blow Victor a kiss as he fell. He’d fallen into their trap, just as they’d hoped. Yuuri was panting as he circled back, high-fiving Phichit.

They were both hard, giggly, somewhere between aroused and excited and buzzing on adrenaline. The world was streaked with light and Yuuri was floating on the feeling of triumph.

“That was amazing!”

“I’m not letting my best friend get claimed on my watch,” Phichit said, a hand on his hip as he threw a bright wink.

There was a soft scrape on the sandstone. Yuuri’s blood ran cold. He had never heard Victor hit the ground below them.

A hand clutched at the ledge, long, thin, pale fingers trembling as they clung to the edge. Yuuri and Phichit mirrored looks of panic. “Shit, shit,” Yuuri hissed. He dropped to a crouch, trying to pry Victor’s fingers up and send him plummeting to the ground.

Phichit looked nervous. “Yuuri, maybe we-”

Yuuri cried out in shock as the other hand wheeled up, closing around Yuuri’s wrist. Victor tugged at Yuuri’s arm. The world blurred. Gravity pulled, and the ground rushed up.

The dirt rose too quickly, slamming hard into his shoulder and jarring him. Yuuri was dazed on the ground counting the stars circling his vision.

Victor rose from a low crouch where he had landed neatly on the ground. “My sweet omega,” he crooned. He moved closer, each step languid, more like the unhurried grace of a big cat than any mere human. His eyes barely had a thin ring of blue around his pupils. More of Victor’s thick, wintergreen alpha scent poured out, trapping Yuuri there on the ground, deliciously pinned under a look, awaiting a touch.

“Yuuri!” Phichit yelled. Yuuri bolted like a startled deer.

He rolled to his feet and took off down the alley. Victor was nearly on him. His speed would make this truly a challenge on flat ground, but the terrain wasn’t perfectly flat. Yuuri scaled ladders and tumbled down harsh slants, vaulting over conspicuous piles of rubbish.

He pushed off a wall for extra height, scaling up another roof. It stalled Victor for only a moment as he circled back, took a running start, and pulled himself right up.

Yuuri was somewhere between swearing and laughing. His body was warm and slick, the egg buzzing prettily inside him. The scent of his alpha was so close. The animal part inside him wanted to know that his alpha was truly the most fit to mate him, the strongest sire to give him the strongest children.

No other alpha compared, but Yuuri wanted to be certain, somewhere deep in the pit of his stomach. His scent poured out of him. ‘Claim me, claim me, do it if you think you can’. Desire was burning like fire.

Victor was inching closer with every second. He was fresher than Yuuri, but it was so close. They were perfectly matched--Victor’s speed and Yuuri’s endurance. His mate, his mate… So beautiful and clever and strong.

He wanted to see how far it could go. He dodged, feinted one way and then moved down another road. The expanse of the wall ended in a door that opened into a sparsely furnished house.

Yuuri paused inside.

Dead end, except for the open circular window. It looked a bit smaller than the first one, but if it was a tight squeeze for Yuuri, there was no way Victor could get his broad shoulders though. Victor was all wide shoulders, wide chest, sculpted muscle. Yuuri was drooling.

He heard Victor slam the door open. There was no time left to consider it. He launched himself toward the window. His shoulders barely squeezed through, but in a split second his arms were free and he was wriggling through.

Then his hips caught.

He tried to wriggle back, but it made it worse, his clothing catching on the stone and making it even harder to wiggle free. He was stuck fast.

That was when he heard it, so quietly through the wall he almost missed it. A rumbling purr, echoing from somewhere near Yuuri’s back. Hands slid over his thighs. Yuuri spasmed in the wall. His heart was hammering in his chest and he let out a brutal shriek as he writhed. He had to get free, had to slip out of the opening.

His alpha’s touch was hot on his skin. Yuuri whined. His hips rolled but didn’t move, and even when he kicked out, he barely made contact with his alpha, only glancing over the skin. His alpha’s knees spread his own apart, thighs flush against the stone wall and hard cock bobbing heavy between them.

There was a rip. Breath rolled over bare skin, his ass exposed to open air as his alpha, his Victor, parted his cheeks with his hands. Yuuri yowled as fingers probed his entrance, feeling the soft, puffy rim and tugging softly at the chain that hung out of it. The pull wasn’t hard enough to free the vibrator, just enough to send it rocking deep inside Yuuri.

The speed of the vibrator changed, and Yuuri let out a low, throaty moan, going limp in the wall.

“Yuuri! Oh god, Yuuri, I’m glad I found you-” Phichit said, stumbling around a corner. His cheeks were slightly flushed from running. He was a bit hazy looking. Or maybe Yuuri was just struggling to see straight as the egg settled in just the right spot, buzzing furiously away so hard that Yuuri’s thighs were trembling.

Phichit sprinted up, grabbing Yuuri’s arms and starting to pull hard. Yuuri used the leverage and tried to pull free. His hips weren’t budging.

“Oh fuck, come on, we can-” Phichit started, before Yuuri went boneless, his whole body shuddering in pleasure. Victor licked a stripe up Yuuri’s perineum, from balls past his asshole, licking up the sweet slick spilling out of Yuuri. And without a moment’s hesitation, Yuuri’s alpha dug into his feast.

He was kissing the entrance like it was Yuuri’s lips, sucking his way in and fucking it with his tongue until Yuuri was helplessly trying to grind his hips back.

“Fuck, fuck,” Phichit panted, looking around in a panic before his eyes widened at Yuuri in realization. “Oh shit, there’s an alpha, I can smell it,-”

“Alphaaa,” Yuuri moaned. “Alpha- please-” His face screwed up as his alpha ate him out like a waiting feast. His alpha’s tongue pulled out. There was a little clink as teeth bit into the chain. Victor pulled.

Yuuri’s nails dug into Phichit’s hands. His eyes flew open as the egg popped out of him with a wet gush of slick pouring down his thighs.

There was motion around a corner. The overwhelming crash of scents and feelings flooded over him, but instinct sang louder than them all. “Chris,” Yuuri choked.

Phichit cocked his head. He followed Yuuri’s eyes.

“Oh fuck, fuck-” Phichit choked, and Yuuri had just a brief moment where the fog cleared, a startling moment where everything was so simple and obvious.

Yuuri’s eyes went wide. “ _Run_ ,” he breathed.

Phichit was off. Yuuri had just one more brief second of clarity before Victor’s cock pressed inside him. Yuuri let out a strangled cry. Always so long and thick, Victor’s cock slid inside like a dream.

Yuuri choked on air. His body thrashed in the hole as Victor ground in deep, reaching depths inside Yuuri his fingers couldn’t touch. Hands closed around his hips, clutching tight at the remaining shreds of Yuuri’s costume.

An inane part of Yuuri’s mind screamed it wasn’t too late. He thrashed and wiggled, still aiming to get free, because his alpha hadn’t knotted him, hadn’t claimed him-

His alpha clenched tighter at his hips, tugging him up to a better angle, to thrust deeper, and Yuuri couldn’t move, couldn’t get away from the waves of pleasure flooding through him. Victor fucked him hard, grunting with each slam of his hips, driving his cock inexorably deeper inside.

Victor’s breath huffed with each thrust. Yuuri’s skin dragged on the stone wall, his body shifting as it slipped in the hole, tipping toward Victor. Victor hauled Yuuri’s hips up higher, and the next thrust struck home, slamming hard into Yuuri’s prostate and grinding in deep, dragging so perfectly over that spot that Yuuri let out a strangled cry.

The air left him in a sharp huff. He clawed at his side of the wall. One side of the wall was freedom, escape. The other was endless pleasure, Victor’s hands roaming over his skin, slicking a hand over his cock, fucking Yuuri so hard he saw stars. Yuuri cried out, his whole body shuddering and going boneless as he came.

The twitching muscles clenched down on Victor, squeezing him so tight that Victor felt even bigger inside Yuuri. He could hear Victor whining as his hips went crazy, jackrabbiting at a frantic pace. The slapping of Victor’s thighs against Yuuri’s was a stuttering rhythm, the grinding of Victor’s balls against Yuuri’s ass as he ground his cock in as deep as it could go.

He was going to mate his omega. He was going to knot, Yuuri realized, his world hazy.

The stone jerked against him as Victor yanked at Yuuri’s hips again, fucking in as he did. Yuuri was left gasping on air, spitted hard on Victor’s cock. The world flinched, and then Yuuri was moving, slipping back the way he’d come.

His shoulders caught briefly on the stone. He cried out at the feeling, wedging his arms back to catch himself. Victor’s hands slid through the hole, digging his fingertips into Yuuri’s scent glands, and Yuuri went boneless. His body slipped right through, back into the room, into Victor’s arms.

His back hit the wall and Victor pressed back inside, panting and burying his nose in Yuuri’s neck. Yuuri scrabbled at his back. He moaned at the fullness, the closeness, the feeling of Victor’s cock beginning to swell inside him.

“Too big,” he whined. His head fell back with a cry as Victor’s knot swelled, locking them together.

And yet Victor’s hips didn’t stop rocking, just kept dragging his cock so sweetly inside Yuuri as he came, growling and sinking his teeth into Yuuri’s neck. The knot popped and his come flooded inside Yuuri.

Everything felt feverish, just an edge of too much, too perfect, and Yuuri’s mind shuddered. His fingers curled into silver hair, chasing Victor’s lips up from his throat and devouring the honey sweet taste of Victor’s mouth.

His back left the wall, and suddenly he was surrounded by thin blankets, laid out over a thin mattress on a prop bed. Victor’s cock bobbed inside him, held fast as Victor spilled again. Yuuri’s body felt hot. He pulled the blankets close around him. It soothed the ragged edges inside him.

Victor crooned in his ear, soft nothings of, “so beautiful, so good for me, so precious, my perfect Yuuri, sweet omega, all mine.” His hands moved worshipfully over Yuuri’s skin, and Yuuri was incoherent with the feeling of Victor’s kiss, Victor’s touch.

The clothing burned his skin. It fell away in shreds as he ripped at it, frantic, desperate for as much skin-on-skin contact as he could get.

“Spread your legs wider, let me go deeper,” Victor purred in Yuuri’s ear.

Yuuri rasped a soft cry as Victor spread his legs apart, grinding in deeper still, until it felt like the head of his massive cock was reaching places Yuuri had never felt before. “Alpha,” Yuuri sobbed. His nails sank into skin.

He wanted Victor to crawl inside him, make them one, fill Yuuri up endlessly full until his stomach was heavy with seed and fat with his alpha’s offspring.

“Please alpha, please, more,” Yuuri begged. The world was white around the edges. Everything that wasn’t Victor was hazy and indistinct. Victor’s kisses drove him wild, until he was sobbing on the bed. The white crept over his vision, deepening, blurring over.

And then everything was gone, and Yuuri felt nothing but bliss.

“Fill me,” he begged.

“You’ll look beautiful,” his alpha moaned, dragging hands over his stomach. The featherlight touch sparked deeper desires. “So beautiful full of my seed.”

“Want it so bad,” Yuuri whimpered. His alpha’s cock twitched inside him. Spilling again. “Aaa, alpha, please! Gonna get me pregnant.”

“Mmm, yess,” his alpha purred. His chest was rumbling deeply. And Yuuri’s mind was gone.

* * *

Yuuri stirred in a darkened room. His eyes were heavy, but his body felt like it was made of lead. The exhaustion was familiar, but not one Yuuri had felt in a while.

A true heat.

The chase often brought a kind of psuedo-heat on, overwhelming an omega’s senses with something like a real one. But those were just fakes. Omegas didn’t go into heat, and if they were going to, they weren’t going to run.

Yuuri cracked his eyes open. He felt weak, a little bruised. He slipped a finger between his legs. It was tacky with dried come, the entrance puffy and thoroughly fucked and knotted. Probably not just once, but three or four times. At least a day and a half out of it.

He was in a dusky hotel room. The curtains were pulled tight, but a thin gap in the hangings sent in a narrow beam of light that diffused through the room. Pain split his temples. He rubbed his face, wincing. He couldn’t remember how he’d gotten here.

Victor was in bed beside him.

Yuuri clutched his bare chest. Victor’s snores were just soft whispers, barely audible. His face was soft. His hair was adorably rumpled, sexed up and messy with sleep. Yuuri’s heart ached.

How had this happened?

If he’d been close to his heat, they would have pulled him from the race. Which meant it had been a sudden onset heat, no warning, triggered by something external. The only external factor that could have triggered it was…

Victor snuffled softly, and Yuuri’s heart melted.

Of course, it was Yuuri’s fault. It was time he stopped playing around and got serious. This was his second loss to Victor, and this time, his own body had betrayed him.

This was a sporting event, not a meet cute. Nothing would ever come from Victor chasing his tail in every race, no matter what Yuuri dreamed of.

Maybe the two of them were well suited. They would have to be, to drive the animal inside of Yuuri so crazy that it plunged him into a heat. And maybe it felt good. Scratch that, it absolutely felt good. The lazy ache in his body was more pleasant than painful. It was like an itch that had been scratched.

But this was getting dangerous. His heart couldn’t bear the pain of losing Victor one day. He was already getting too close, and his body saw Victor as a mate, not a rival.

Yuuri needed to stay focused. Losing like this was killing him--both the thought of defeat, and the need to be closer, always closer to Victor. This game was going to get Yuuri hurt, but worse than that. It was going to ruin Victor one day, too.

Maybe it already had. No alpha out of his rut could knot as many times as he must have knotted Yuuri. This was already going to have serious consequences. It wasn’t fair to Victor, in the end.

Yuuri stroked a hand over Victor’s forehead, brushing the hair away from his face. He pressed a kiss to Victor’s temple. He grabbed a robe from the bathroom. His legs were shaky. He almost couldn’t walk, and his legs nearly gave out beneath him. But he couldn’t stay. He slipped the robe over his shoulders, and he turned from the room without a second glance.

If he had looked back, he would have seen Victor’s eyes blinking open, blue as the sky as they watched him.


End file.
